Jane Cassidy

1932 - 2023

Jane Cassidy passed away peacefully on December 4th 2023 with her boys by her side. She was born on June 22nd 1932 in Tulsa Oklahoma but grew up in Denver as the only child of Dorothy and Carl Sheldon.

Jane was an excellent student and an adventurous young girl. She would ride bikes with her friends all over Denver and stayed busy with arts and crafts throughout her young life. She took her love of design to University of Colorado in Boulder where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design. After graduation she toured Europe with a girlfriend. She was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority and stayed in contact with many members all her life.

Somewhere along the way in her last semester she was introduced to 'Mr. Cassidy'. Although he was dating the girl downstairs, "Mr. Cassidy", Jim, had no thoughts about anyone other than Jane from that point on. They quickly became much more than acquaintances and started a wonderful romance with skiing, traveling, dancing and dining their way to engagement and wedding.

Jane used her degree immediately, working for a furniture store in downtown Denver, helping customers with the design of their homes. She became an indispensable employee and started growing a very good reputation as a designer.

Their two sons, John and Patrick were born while living in Denver. The family moved to Helena in 1966 when Jim was transferred while working for Frontier Oil. Jane started working from home designing wonderful interiors. It didn't take long for her clientele to grow. The boys lived their first few years with their living room full of other people's furniture waiting for delivery.

One day Jim, recognizing her brilliance and marketability, unbeknownst to Jane, quit his steady paycheck, got a loan and Jane Cassidy Interiors was opened in the early 70s on Helena Ave. Jim, the salesman sold the furniture while Jane, the designer made beautiful rooms for the furniture. It was a good combination. A good friend, Steve Grand, thought so too and they formed a partnership opening Cassidy~Grand in downtown Helena. Jane had her own domain upstairs designing interiors with more and more homeowners. The men sold the furniture and the boys delivered.

Jim and Jane had a wonderful life together. When they weren't working hard, they were traveling the world, skiing with the boys and sailing on Canyon Ferry. Jim would fly Jane to furniture markets and vacations. Jim up front flying and Mom in back snacking, drinking wine and reading; occasionally making Jim land for a bathroom break.

Sadly, Jim passed away at 87 in 2017. John and Patrick carried on with Mom, taking her out to meals, movies and more. Jane had many good friends in town, and they all cherished seeing her and taking her out often. The "Lemon Drop Gals" were frequently seen taking over a large table or booth in On Broadway and elsewhere.

A celebration of life will be held at On Broadway on July 28th, 2024 at 4pm. Jane contributed to many local charities/organizations and would be pleased, if you choose, to make a contribution to the charity of your choice.